They followed the stream until night deepened.
Water reflected the sky in broken pieces, never still for long.
Lira walked slowly, listening—not with ears, but with the bond.
"It's uneven tonight," she said.
"Like something is pressing… and failing."
Kael felt it too.
The heir is trying to pull threads back.
The Seer nodded.
"He's testing the edges," he said.
"Seeing what still responds to fear."
They made camp beneath a low overhang.
No fire this time.
Just quiet.
Sera and Jon slept close together, exhaustion finally winning.
Lira sat with her back against the stone, knees drawn up.
"Kael… what if he changes tactics?" she asked softly.
"What if he stops hunting bonds… and starts breaking places?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
His intent came slowly, carefully.
Then people will move before he arrives.
Lira understood.
Because they already were.
She felt it again subtle shifts far away.
Paths avoided.
Doors opened earlier.
Warnings passed without words.
The Seer watched the darkness beyond the camp.
"He built his power on predictability," he said.
"And you've taken that from him."
Lira hugged her arms.
"That makes us targets."
"Yes," the Seer agreed.
"But it also makes you proof."
Kael felt something settle in his chest.
We're not leading this.
Lira nodded.
"We're just… keeping it from breaking."
The night grew colder.
Somewhere far off, a horn sounded—distant, uncertain.
Not close enough to matter.
Yet.
Lira closed her eyes and focused not outward, but inward.
She didn't send anything.
She simply stayed open.
The bond hummed softly.
Steady.
Alive.
Far away, the heir stood alone in a quiet chamber.
Maps lay spread before him.
Markers meant nothing now.
He touched one—and then removed it.
Then another.
Until the map was bare.
Control had slipped—not all at once, but enough.
Enough to matter.
He looked up, eyes thoughtful.
"They didn't rise," he murmured.
"They remembered."
And that frightened him more than rebellion ever had.
Back by the stream, Kael shifted closer to Lira.
Sleep, his intent said gently. Tomorrow we keep moving.
She leaned against him.
"I know," she whispered.
"And Kael… thank you."
He felt the meaning behind it.
Not for protection.
Not for strength.
For choosing connection—every time.
The night held them.
Quiet.
Unbroken.
And somewhere between fear and freedom
The world took another breath.